Canty are
a four-strong all-female group who
have, with some justification, been
compared with Anonymous Four. Their
first CD, of music by Hildegard of
Bingen and from medieval Scotland,
was released on the Dorian label;
two more recordings of medieval Irish
and Scottish music followed on the
ASV Gaudeamus label. Felix femina
(CDGAU360) approximates the contents
of a Ladymass, described by Glyn Pursglove
as "a well-conceived and executed
CD" – see review.
Gary Higginson was equally impressed
with Flame of Ireland, music
associated with St Bridget (CDGAU354)
– see review.

Now they turn their
attention to a reconstruction of
the music for First Vespers, Matins,
Lauds and Second Vespers for St
Patrick’s Day. They are joined,
as before, by William Taylor playing
a wire-strung clarsach or Gaelic
harp. With minor reservations, this
new CD deserves the praise which
my colleagues gave to those ASV
recordings.

St Patrick is,
of course, much better known to
the world in general than St Bridget,
so the CD should have popular appeal,
not least to the Irish community
in the US. Recordings of chant appear
to be flavour of the moment again,
but I wonder how many potential
buyers there will be for this reconstruction.
The earlier ASV recordings already
seem to have been deleted – at least
I cannot find them on offer at online
retailers – I hope the new CD fares
better. Felix femina is still
available from iTunes, as is this
new CD.

The unobtrusive
accompaniment of the clarsach will
probably add to the appeal of the
recording, but the use of any instrumental
accompaniment to the chant of the
office is highly controversial.
Perhaps it was employed in convents
where the nuns were not up to chanting
the office without assistance –
which is hardly the case with Canty.
Not everything is accompanied –
the first antiphon is, the next
few are not and the clarsach does
not reappear until track 7, the
responsory Magni patris sunt
miranda – so the performers
could be said to be hedging their
bets so as not to offend those musicologists
who insist on unaccompanied performance.
Though I tend towards the Christopher
Page school of thought – the instruments
on his excellent Gothic Voices recordings,
slowly being reissued at budget
price by Hyperion Helios, very restricted
– I was not disturbed by the instrumental
accompaniment here.

The
singing is excellent, quite the
equal of Anonymous Four on their
very fine Harmonia Mundi recordings
and preferable to a similar Telarc
album Angeli – Music of Angels,
to which I gave a guarded review
some time ago (CD-80448 – see review).
If the Telarc CD made excellent
music for relaxation, this Canty
recording does the same but with
a sharper eye to authenticity. Music
for relaxation may not be the prime
purpose of the recording, but it
will be an excellent by-product.
Even if you don’t want to go beyond
that, the CD should appeal, though
I should remind you of another excellent
recent recording of plainsong: Chant,
Music forParadise (Universal
UCJ176 6016) another CD which can
be appreciated at a variety of levels,
including relaxation – see review.

Most of the music
for Apostle of Ireland has
been specially edited from two manuscripts
in the library of Trinity College,
Dublin, TCD79 and TCD80, transcribed
by Dr Ann Buckley, whose two-page
description of these sources in
the booklet greatly adds to the
value of the notes and to the authenticity
of the recording. The Magnificat
on the final track is chanted to
an excellent setting, quite different
from the normal tone, which adds
to the attractiveness of the recording.

The lavish and
informative booklet is let down
only by a weird typo which turns
the title of the first antiphon,
Veneranda imminentis diei
back to front as Veneranda entisimmin.
I could have done without the photograph
of Canty in their natty green tabards
embellished with Celtic crosses
– though of Irish descent, I don’t
go much on that sort of thing –
but I did like the paintings by
Maria Rud, combining elements of
the modern and the medieval, which
embellish the front and back of
the CD.

The translations,
by Senan Furlong, OSB, are accurate
and idiomatic, though the combination
of the modern (has) and Book of
Common Prayer (hath) wording is
discordant at times. As a bonus
additional to the excellent singing,
putting all these texts together
will inform you about the life of
Patrick, including his famous banishment
of the serpents from Ireland (Exultent
filii matris eccelsie, track
8) – unfortunately, the story is
mythical: there never were any snakes
in post-Ice Age Ireland. You’ll
also find on track 7 the supposed
revelation of Purgatory to Patrick;
though this was hardly an established
doctrine in Patrick’s day, medieval
literature abounds with accounts
of sinners who repented after being
granted a vision of ‘St Patrick’s
Purgatory’.

With excellent
recording, this CD may be strongly
recommended. At whatever level you
listen, you will find spiritual
nourishment here – I guarantee that
you won’t think the 78 minutes too
long.

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